Long Term Goals and the Power of Incremental Progress
So many of us long for for instant gratification, whether our desire is to write a book, loose 50 pounds, or build a successful online business. The same underlying principal applies to each of these examples: Small incremental steps toward a long term goals prevail.
There was a time in my life that I had almost a dozen simultaneous online business projects. I was running blogs, online stores, and setting up affiliate marketing campaigns all at the same time. When I would get board with a project, or if I found a new idea, I would start a new project. Several of the projects were stuck in limbo and the ones that were complete, didn’t receive the attention they deserved. In the end, they all failed miserably, lets call it a lesson learned.
At this same time I was continually “busy”, planning, designing, building, tweaking. What I failed to realize is that being constantly occupied was not helping me to accomplish my goals, but was in-fact hindering my growth.
After a long break from the computer and a period of self-analysis, I was asking myself, why were none of my projects taking off? After all this time spent and hours working shouldn’t something be more successful?
I eventually came to realization that my projects were not the problem, but working aimlessly and being in the constant state of “on verge of a breakthrough” was the problem. By spreading myself too thin on several smaller unrelated projects, and by not having a clear end result and plan in mind I was setting myself up for failure.
The Rule of Incremental Progression
Incremental progress is the process of taking a large long term goal and segmenting it creating several short term goals that add up to the larger whole. By focusing on smaller short term goals, and working each day to complete these goals, you are able to adjust your direction, and measure your progression along the way.
If you are building an online business don’t forget that internet businesses are not immune to the requirement of “time”. By building a quality business and working each day on small portions of it. Your venture will stand the test of time, be more immune to new competition, and you will be more successful in the long run.
The Advantages of Segmenting Long Term Goals
- Completing short term goals early on can keep you motivated.
- You are less likely to stray from your long term goal or get distracted.
- It’s considerably easier to measure your progression.
Set a Clear Long Term Goal
Before you start chopping up your goals, your long term objectives must be clearly defined and visualized. If your goal is to create a successful online business, or write a book then write down everything this goal entails. Be specific and visualize yourself having accomplished this goal. Because visualizing is easy, most people overlook this important step.
Visualization is a powerful tactic. I regularly use yellow legal pads and spiral notebooks to keep track of my thoughts. In my experiences i’ve found that digging up old note pads that have been sitting in drawer for over a year revealed something surprising. The little thoughts and ideas of the past, I was currently implementing today without realizing. Call it law of attraction, or my subconscious mind working behind the scenes, but writing it down works.
Set Realistic Measurable Short Term Goals
Setting realistic goals that can be measured is important. In order to help accurately determine your progress, create smaller short term goals that can be measured. When setting short term goals think of measurable steps such as: how many, number of times, how long, and so forth.
A timeline representing your journey could be created with smaller sections representing short term goals that correlate to the your long term picture. By breaking a large long term goal into smaller short term goals.
By focusing on the smaller goals, I am not overwhelmed by the enormous project of writing 156 articles (a years worth of articles).
Long Term Goals and the Stages of Progression
During the stages of progression, diverting focus from the dreamland state at the end of the journey, and creating a strategy that is flexible and realistic allows you to work more efficiently on the immediate requirements that need to be taken care of. Over time you will progress toward your goals while enjoying the journey.
Brainstorming Phase
In the initial brainstorming phase it is a good idea to mindmap and write down on paper the ideas that you have. Be specific and take as long as needed. Its important to define the problem that you are trying to solve. The more specific you describe the problem the better. If you define the problem to narrowly then you may not catch other related details. If the problem is too spread out, you run risk of being overwhelmed with complexity.
Research and Strategy
After the problem is clearly defined you can begin to construct a plan. This includes research and structuring data and the opinions of others into a clear strategy for obtaining your goal.
Foundation Building
The next stages are setting up the structure for your short term goals. For an online business this can be buying inventory, or setting up a website on a new domain. If loosing weight is your goal this can mean cleaning out the fridge or pantry of fattening foods, and replacing them with a more nutritious selection.
Building Momentum
Newton’s Law of Inertia states that objects are resistant to change relative to its state of motion. Meaning the beginning stages of accomplishing your long term goal will be the most difficult, but as you start gaining momentum, it gets easier. This applies to any goal you are attempting. In the beginning you are resistant to change, even change that will produce positive results. Like a snowball rolling downhill you will grow with experience.
Maintenance and Steady Growth
Initial growth may be challenging, but maintaining momentum while growing steadily can be less difficult. The important aspect of this stage is enjoying the journey as it gives you more experience and education.
Success
Congratulations! You’ve succeeded. Everyone’s definition of success is different but we can all agree that success means accomplishing your goals.
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